r/mildlyinfuriating • u/50calTaco • 21d ago

I'm slightly vexed Grown man gets mad because he doesn’t know what ordering a “plain” burger means

So I work at Five Guys and for those who don’t know, when you order a burger there you get to fully customize the toppings on it (helps justify the price tag a tiny bit i guess). And you choose between a little (single) or regular (double) burger.

I had a pleasant enough exchange with a customer while ringing up his food… and when it came to his cheeseburger I asked what toppings he wanted on it. He looked at me and said, “Oh you know… just a plain, regular cheeseburger.” Ok great, a cheeseburger with nothing on it, easy enough.

Well we make the food, and a minute after he gets it he comes back up to me, visibly annoyed and holding the burger.

“You made my food wrong. There’s nothing on it.”

“Oh I’m sorry sir, I thought you’d ordered a plain cheeseburger.”

“I did. Do you not know what that means? Like a McDonald’s burger.”

Ok first of all, “McDonald’s” is not a standard for how someone orders burger toppings and second of all, this guys in his late 40s to early 50s and has never once run into this issue ordering a plain burger?

“Ok I’m sorry about that sir, we’ll remake that for you. What exactly did you want on it?”

I shit you not, with an annoyed voice he ordered:
Ketchup. Lettuce. Pickles.
So notably NOT a McDonald’s cheeseburger???

He got what he wanted in the end and I apologized because customer service but like?? I’m in awe at the sheer level of misunderstanding and audacity.

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937

u/EdiesDaddy 21d ago

The number of times I've ordered "plain" and gotten onions on my McD's burger would astound you.

677

u/Tall-Marionberry-590 21d ago

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u/King_Of_Uranus 21d ago

As someone who hates pickles on burgers, this hurt my soul. I swear that clown has it out for me. Fortunately I havent eaten McDonalds in years but yes "no pickles" apparently means "no pickles should be left remaining in this zip code after you are done putting them all on my burger"

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u/tuC0M 21d ago

I also hate pickles on my burger, and am old enough that McDonald's would do zero customization to your toppings. My mom would ask for plain cheeseburger and it would still be ketchup, mustard, onions, and pickles. Maybe that's why to this day if a pickle has even been on the burger I'd rather just have a new one without escence of pickles 😂

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u/premiumdude 20d ago

My recollection from back in the day (70s/80s) was that asking for any customization on a McD's burger was just a mess. It would always take longer, and as you mentioned, it still might show up wrong. My parents stopped trying and just told me to take off what I didn't want 🤷🏻‍♂️

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u/bassmadrigal 20d ago

am old enough that McDonald's would do zero customization to your toppings

Out of curiosity, when was this? I'm in my mid-40s and don't ever remember not being able to be picky at McDonald's.

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u/Z3r0C0o 20d ago

I know in 2020 it was still not made to order. We were still dropping common sandwiches in the slots fully made. If you ordered with any changes, that sandwich got made special, took longer and probably had to wait on something as the buns and patty's were already counted on

1

u/bassmadrigal 20d ago

When I worked there in the late 90s and early 00s, the only things we premade were some of the common breakfast sandwiches. Everything else was made to order.

It still only took maybe 45 seconds to wait for the buns to toast and to assemble and wrap the sandwich.

Either way, having premade sandwiches but allowing changes and requiring building a custom sandwich is different from not allowing any customization, which is what the previous comment was talking about.

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u/tuC0M 20d ago

This would have been early 90s

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u/bassmadrigal 20d ago

I wonder if this was just your location, because I definitely remember ordering my cheeseburger in my happy meal without pickles and onions. This would've been mid to late 80s.

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u/collin3000 21d ago

I hate pickles to. Pickles ruin everything they touch. I'm pretty sure a pickle touched my parents marriage

4

u/Redthemagnificent 20d ago

Show us on the doll where the pickle touched you

3

u/Saucermote 20d ago

I like pickles, but not on most sandwiches/burgers. Pickles cannot be removed once added, the taste from the pickle juice taints everything it touches. It's not like picking off a tomato slice or leaf of lettuce.

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u/iwilldeletethisacct2 21d ago

I also don't like pickles on my burger, but I accept that it's a fairly standard topping for a lot of people. The thing that drives me nuts is pickles on chicken. Absolutely not, pickles do not even belong there.

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u/105_irl 20d ago

Yeah I just get the nuggets and don’t even try with the burgers anymore

8

u/WartimeHotTot 20d ago

I don’t understand why pickles come standard on burgers. I also don’t understand why so many people like that.

I like pickles. They’re great by themselves. But as soon as you put them on something like a burger, the flavor of every bite becomes 95% pickle, 5% burger. It overpowers everything it touches.

1

u/CatProgrammer 18d ago

Acidity to balance the fat. Not so important on a burger, sure, but a fried chicken sandwich just isn't the same without them. 

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u/Kazehana127 20d ago

I just want cheese and ketchup on my burger and every order from every fast food location in town had me sitting in the car picking off pickles and wiping mustard and mayo off the bun and applying ketchup myself. I’ve since just completely stopped eating fast food, which was a good decision for my general health, but it still blows my mind that 10 different establishments could never get it right. 

Know who always gets it right? Five Guys. Guess what’s two towns over. 

3

u/ArcadianDelSol 20d ago

pickles on burgers is horrible. They're tart and have the consistency of raw oysters.

If they were crisp bread-and-butter style pickles, maybe. But McDonalds is putting slices of Pickle-Roll-Ups on their burgers.

1

u/CatProgrammer 18d ago

Sweet pickles have zero place on a burger, yuck. The crunch I agree on though, limp pickles are just disappointing. 

1

u/ArcadianDelSol 18d ago

how do we solve this impossible dillema? How do we get crunchy dill pickles on burgers?

Its like we werent good enough to deserve it or something.

3

u/Redthemagnificent 20d ago

I thought I hated pickles as a kid. Turns out I just hate those specific fast food burger pickles. Idk what it is about them. They're gross. But I love a jar of pickles and pickled onions

3

u/feedthechonk 20d ago

The value menu cheeseburger doesn't even come with pickles and I've had them put pickles on it. They really don't give a fuck.

The absolute fucking worst was sprechers in lake Geneva, Wisconsin. I'd order a burger, no pickles with the side of veggies no carrots. Not a single carrot, but there's be pickles on the burger every damn time. Thankfully they were fried and skewered on top, so there were no juice to fuck up the burger

2

u/hillside126 20d ago

Tbf, I have been ordering no pickles on my burgers from my local McDonalds for 4 years and they have never gotten it wrong so far.

2

u/skankenstein 20d ago

When I was in high school, my friend who worked at McDonalds and I went thru drive thru at the only McDonalds in our small town. She asked for extra pickles on her cheeseburger. The manager who hated her must have made it because when we got home, the burger was thicc- it had like two dozen pickles on it. The burger was inedible after soaking up the pickle essence of that many pickles.

I regularly think about the pettiness of that pickle burger and that happened in 1995.

2

u/Kilocentric 20d ago

I have never returned a messed up order before because I am not picky and as long as the food is appropriate to the cost I'm happy. I picked up a big mac with no pickles for my brother and re-iterated no pickles and saw it on the screen.
Get home and he opens the burger to buns stuffed to the brim in pickles. I was furious. It had to be a joke and I had them remake the burger. I wasn't rude about it but why mess with other people's food.

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u/PotatoesAndChill 20d ago

Same here, but I didn't have issues ordering without pickles. The only time it was a bit problematic was when the cashier got a bit confused by me ordering a hamburger without pickles, so she thought I was allergic to everything and asked about all ingredients: "Is ketchup ok? Is onion ok? Is mustard ok?". But it's fine.

Has a much bigger problem in Burger King where the electronic menu thing had customisation options on the Whopper, but for whatever reason it didn't include pickles.

4

u/Calypsosin 21d ago

I had this happen with a Schlotzsky’s in my home town. I’d get an original with no veggies because I’m a savage. Still wanted the cheese and sauce, tho.

I’d constantly get olives put on, and they’d not put cheese or sauce often. One time, after like the 5th time in a row of it happening, I asked them, “do you consider cheese a vegetable?” And they just shrugged at me.

I don’t really go there anymore lol… the only other place that does me dirty like that is Whataburger. Order is always right, it just takes 30+ minutes. Shambolic.

1

u/ermax18 20d ago

As someone who loves pickles, it annoys me when you get the random pickle hater working at Chick-fil-A that alters the standard ordering protocol and asks me if I want pickles on my sandwich. It has pickles by default, this isn’t even a question they ask by default. Every time I get the random person at Chick-fil-A asking if I want pickles, I say yes with a confused look and then my sandwich comes out without pickles anyways. Hahaha.

10

u/EdiesDaddy 21d ago

Oh fine, have my upvote.

1

u/Development-Feisty 20d ago

My friend Aye Jaye what’s the head Ronald McDonald for so many years only died recently. Really great Carney

1

u/Acceptable-Elk-8372 19d ago

Tall, lmfao 💀

112

u/mar__iguana 21d ago

One time I ordered extra onions and they gave me someone’s order that asked for no onions. It still had onions

6

u/PuzzledSympathy9186 21d ago

Heading home at 1am after an evening of D&D and decided to stop and get a burger at McDonald’s. Asked for no onions. Got a burger with items. Went through the drive thru again and explained the mistake; at the window I got another burger with onions. I went through another time, explained the mistake, still received the onions. On the fourth trip around, I opened the burger at the window, found it again had onions and waited for them to fix while sitting at the food window. Checked the remade one to make sure before I drove away again.

1

u/Buffalo-Empty 19d ago

5?!! It took them 5 times to get the order correct???

2

u/PuzzledSympathy9186 19d ago

It blew me away as it was happening and getting more absurd each time. At that point it felt like it had to be intentional, but I don’t know.

3

u/TheHowlingHashira 20d ago

I recently ordered extra onions and got a plain burger ):

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u/Legendary_Bibo 21d ago

Yeah, I'll pick up a plain burger from McDonald's with no salt for my dog (and just feed her the patty, not the bun)  as a treat and after several times of them leaving ketchup or onions or something else when I ordered in the drive through I just started going in and ordering from the kiosk and double checking before I leave.

One time I had my dog in the car when I was driving my dog from the vet and told the girl running the drive through  at Jack in the Box that it was for a dog to be doubly sure and she asked if my dog was in the car and I was like yeah? When I pulled up, I had my back window a little down and she wanted to hand it to my dog directly and pet her, and she took the patty off and handed it straight to her and pet her head for a bit. I should've inspected the burger, but it made her day I guess.

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u/PromiseSimple2931 21d ago

Can confirm, dog in the drivethru makes the cashier's day

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u/SnausageFest 20d ago

Dog made a new friend who has the best snacks. They both had a great time.

3

u/Afraid_Aspect_8639 20d ago

My McDonald’s morning shift knows my golden retriever George and gives him a pup cup of whipped cream.

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u/DisposableSaviour 21d ago

A lot of times my kids make the drive thru’s days. They just want to wave and say hi to the workers.

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u/Vlaxilla 20d ago

next time ask the workers to feed your kids the patty directly

4

u/Z3r0C0o 20d ago

I'll let them pat em on the head but hand feeding my children is sure to end up with a bite

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u/mjw217 21d ago

My Boxer boy, Jasper loved Wendy’s grilled chicken. I would go through the drive-thru and just order the chicken. Everyone would come to the drive-thru window to say hi. This was during Covid. We went there a couple times a week. They started giving me the chicken for free. Jasper had some health issues and we had to say goodbye in January of ‘21. He was ten and a half.

When I told the people at Wendy’s that he was gone, they were so sad. They also comped my food that night. 😭

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u/Photon6626 21d ago

You can just order a patty for cheaper. At least you used to be able to. When I was doing carnivore diet I sometimes got patties for like 40 cents each.

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u/Legendary_Bibo 21d ago

I know on the McDonald's kiosk it doesn't lower the price so I just assumed it was like that everywhere.

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u/Photon6626 21d ago

I don't see it on the app anymore so they must have taken it off. Maybe they can do it if you order at the counter? If so, scan the receipt on your app and maybe the patty will be in your recent orders tab. It may still be there but hidden from the user menu. Then you can just put it on your order from the recent orders tab instead of ordering from the counter.

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u/Inflatable90sChair 20d ago

see last time i was dog sitting for friends of mine i usually load em up in my truck and take em to a local hiking area to really tire em out. they absolutely love it though. i made the mistake once of going thru taco bell drive thru afterwards for myself and had my windows cracked. i swear that 80 lbs of fun was gonna break my window and jump thru the drive thru window cuz he wanted to meet the people inside....

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u/Dashiepants 20d ago

I used to work at a restaurant with a patio that allowed dogs. I would ALWAYS go pet the dog if I had time to do so and wash my hands after, even if they weren’t my guest. I fucking love dogs and meeting a new one will definitely make a shift better.

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u/Hot-Win2571 Mildly Flair 21d ago

Fortunately, dogs are also omnivores.

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u/Cheesemacher 20d ago

Unfortunately, onions are toxic to dogs

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u/Neoreloaded313 21d ago

Even if it looks plain, you can often taste the onions still. I hate onions and no longer eat there.

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u/godrollexotic 21d ago

That's because we don't have a no onion section and an onion section for the grill plates. Sorry dude. I try to make sure the no onion gets cooked on the same plate, but I even forget in a rush. The onion juices on the grill get on the no onion burgers.

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u/Whiteums 21d ago

Since when does McDonald’s cook the onions??? I would love it if you caramelized them for me, but I’ve only ever seen raw onions dumped on the burgers like a psychopath would do, so I always order without.

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u/Arkanial 21d ago

They actually do cook onions but only for the steak, egg, and cheese bagel so it’s not available for burgers since it’s a breakfast thing.

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u/Whiteums 21d ago

I have never heard of them having such a thing

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u/Arkanial 21d ago

It used to be a staple breakfast item but they removed it for like 10 years then finally brought it back like a year ago. It’s by far their best breakfast item and might even be their best thing full stop. Idk what this other guy is talking about, though. McDonald’s has never put onions on their patties when they cook them. The only thing that goes directly on the patty while it’s on the grill is the seasoning which is a simple salt and pepper mixture. There was a time when for like 6 months many years ago they had a limited time grilled onion burger but even then they just cooked a pile of onions on their own then put them in a tray in the heating rack. I worked there for years when I was younger and have never heard of them putting onions on the grill other than those two specific scenarios.

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u/mashtato 20d ago

I'm still kicking myself. They lffere a free on on the app when they brought it back, and I didn't go in to redeem it in time!

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u/MelookRS 20d ago

It really is their best sandwich, but I always ask them to substitute round egg instead of the folded egg. It's so much better with a fresh egg, over the folded egg which has a 50% chance of just being microwaved.

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u/Toolazytobeunique 20d ago

I miss when the round egg substitution was free. Now it’s $2.19. Don’t want it that much.

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u/godrollexotic 20d ago

You can order grilled onions! They do the slivers grilled like the steaks :)

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u/JonnyFairplay 21d ago

The onions go on the patties while on the grill. They end up a little cooked.

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u/seeker_moc 20d ago edited 20d ago

McDonalds isn't White Castle. There are no onions anywhere near a grill at McD's.

Edit: I stand corrected.

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u/JonnyFairplay 20d ago

You’re wrong. I literally work there. This is how it’s done, at least in the US.

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u/planet_saturn 20d ago

That used to be true. McDonald’s changed the process in 2023 and now cooks the diced onions with the patties on several burgers.

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u/mashtato 20d ago

Crazy! Which ones are the diced? We used to call the two varieties 'rehydrated,' and 'slivered.'

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u/TleilaxTheTerrible 20d ago

The rehydrated ones that always went on any burger with a 10:1 patty.

1

u/malfurionpre 20d ago

I hate onions

my condolences

1

u/Joelle9879 20d ago

I always order burgers without onions. Usually, I get it that way but every once in a while I'll get one with onions all over. I have to get a new burger because just removing them doesn't remove the taste. With McDonald's, they use chopped onions so removing them also means removing the ketchup and mustard along with them

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u/SavantTheVaporeon 21d ago

McDonald’s has a habit of adding a ton of things like ketchup even when you specifically ask for no ketchup lol

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u/KeKeFanChick 21d ago

McDs has so much bullshttery in the kitchen it's ridiculous. Order "no pickles" and you may or may not get pickles but you get triple onions. Order " no ketchup" and you get so much mustard you can't pick it up... i swear they just want to punish you for daring to custom order.

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u/swedishishchef 21d ago

It happened a lot to me as a picky child and ruined my day.

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u/AlertWar2945-2 21d ago

A lot of times ill specify "plain, just meat and cheese" just to hammer in what I want. Sometimes it's better to overexplain when getting fast food

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u/Complete_Mud_1657 21d ago edited 21d ago

Because onions are on the patties themselves on the grill not added afterward. Employees have to take from a specific "no onion" burger tray which can get confusing in a rush because sometimes your brain doesn't register plain as no onion, so you just take from the tray you were taking from already.

6

u/tylerdehate 21d ago

At least when I worked there, that's not at all true. The burgers are cooked on a clamshell griddle with no onions. The onions were rehydrated onions that were added to the sandwich while making it.

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u/morriganandmilla 21d ago

They changed the recipe a few years back. The frozen patties get onions added to them now and I’ve had some that were truly loaded even after stating i wanted nothing on mine. Screenshot straight from the website

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u/Complete_Mud_1657 21d ago

I worked there for 4 years. The rehydrated onions are added to the patties on the grill at the same time as the seasoning.

You need to do a seperate batch of no onion patties which goes in its own tray in the cabinet.

2

u/tylerdehate 21d ago

That's weird that they would add that. I can see why they would because it tastes better, but no onions was a common enough request that it seems more difficult to add them in the cooking step.

-1

u/Qetuowryipzcbmxvn 21d ago

Have you ever known McDonald's to make something more convenient for their employees? That can't have been the weirdest or dumbest decision you came across.

1

u/aladdyn2 21d ago

Haha not me. I used to get free cheeseburgers from my manager at least twice a week when he would get onions put on his plain cheeseburgers and give them to me.

1

u/McdoManaguer 21d ago

Its because they now put onions on the patties once they are done cooking before putting them in the heater.

It changed like 10 years ago. They use to actually put the raw onions in their burgers, now they are "cooked" and it COMPLETLY changed the taste of everything.

1

u/CartoonistTop3246 21d ago

That’s why I don’t say, “plain,” I say, “only cheese”

1

u/salohcin513 21d ago

From previously working there I think getting onions occasionally on plain burgers comes from the dehydrated onions being placed next to the cheese on the assembly line, it annoys the fuck out of me as someone who orders their burgers plain all the time lol

1

u/Darkchamber292 21d ago

The reason for that is because the patties are already premade with the onions in them. They have to go out of there way to give you a patty without the onion

1

u/Redbeard821 21d ago

That is why I usually just say "meat and cheese" only instead of saying "Plain"

1

u/Hot-Win2571 Mildly Flair 21d ago

Well, there will be some order takers who will alter a "plain" request into a "normal" order.

1

u/headrush46n2 21d ago

the amount of times THEY have prompted me what sauce i want, i answer, and then they put no sauce in the bag astounds me.

1

u/Comprehensive-Menu44 21d ago

No literally I’ve asked for “plain, dry, no cheese, nothing but meat and bun” and still somehow got the works

1

u/GBF_Dragon 21d ago

i order "no onions" and the amount of times they've been there is indeed astounding

1

u/Swimming-Energy-3086 20d ago

McDonald’s used to offer two menu items, a Quarter Pounder, AND a Quarter Pounder with Cheese. If you chose to order “a quarter pounder” they were trained to ask “would you like that with cheese?” Well, my father, always wanted just the Quarter Pounder, so he would instantly become irate and say “If I wanted a Quarter Pounder with cheese, I would have ordered a fucking Quarter Pounder with cheese.” Now, they only list the Quarter Pounder with cheese, but you can special order it without cheese.

1

u/Brohemoth1991 20d ago

I remember a lady when I worked at BK years ago lol... she came in the drive thru and ordered a whopper junior with cheese, no pickles, no onion, no lettuce, no tomato, no mayo

I thought I was being nice and rung up a cheeseburger no pickle or mustard... lol she flipped her lid, even after I tried explaining to her that what I rung up was the EXACT same thing, just 40 cents cheaper

After about 45 seconds I gave up and just gave her what she ordered lmao

1

u/LePetiteSirene PURPLE 20d ago

Or JUST ketchup (I really hate ketchup)

1

u/0kokuryu0 20d ago

Or order plain and the only omit the sauce, or the veggies, but not both. I used to get in arguments when I was a kid and told off about ordering wrong when I wanted a plain cheeseburger, and the few times it's actually plain they wouldn't put cheese on it....... Sometimes they'd make me list what I don't want because that's how they have to input it, so I'd have to ask what's on it, memorize it quickly, and rattle it back as what I don't want...... Stupid McDonald's employees and managers being a dick to and elementary age kid.....

Oh, this eneded up being a rant. I am legit traumatized ordering burgers at places because of this.....

1

u/weedtrek 20d ago

I was going to say, McDonald's is often terrible at customization, so you'll likely still get a regular burger.

1

u/meowsplaining 20d ago

And they want $15 an hour...

1

u/DapperMolasses3280 20d ago

You mean those tiny dehydrated things? That's more like onion powder really 😂 everyone gets those, it's like they automatically get caught by everybody patty somehow.

1

u/Lepelotonfromager 20d ago

That's a separate matter entirely. Getting onions on food after asking for no-onion is some kind of universal axiom.

1

u/LinkinitupYT 20d ago

Yeah, these people have no idea how misunderstood "plain" has been over the years. When I ask for "plain" I always clarify with them that I want just the meat(s), cheese, and bun, or I just expect it to be wrong because of my past experiences.

1

u/supradave 20d ago

Back when they cooked them by hand and not by machine, yes, the onions were added and a few might be shoved onto your burger. Lazy burger station employees. Those ol' dehydrated-rehydrated onions. I wonder if they still do that?

1

u/Frosted_Glaceon BLUE 20d ago

Its because the procedure changed with our onions. Instead of having the onions in a container on the table, they're in these shakers, and you're supposed to out onions on the meat while in the cabinet. We've got two separate spaces for onion and no onionwat, and when you've been working 8 or more hours it's pretty easy to grab the wrong one by accident.

Not excusing it, especially if someone has allergies, but I would bet that's why. When I'm training new people on assembly I have to watch them like a hawk to make sure they don't accidentally put the wrong meat on no onion orders. 😂

1

u/ScyllaOfTheDepths 20d ago

Yeah, I had to literally specify every time "plain with nothing on it except cheese, just the patty the bread and the cheese" and they'd still sometimes give it to me with ketchup and onions on it. I stopped going to McDs years ago because their service sucks and they're so expensive for what it is.

1

u/Alleandros 20d ago

As someone who use to eat very plainly, I'd always have to reiterate 'nothing' when asked what I want on a burger or chicken sandwich. They were always surprised that by nothing I meant it, bun and meat only.

1

u/rlfrlf 20d ago

I gave up and stopped ordering a plain “1/4 pounder”, they only sell “1/4 pounder with cheese” here in Ireland. No matter how many times I say just the meat and the bun only, no cheese, it comes with cheese.

1

u/Igotthisnameguys 20d ago

Tbf, "plain" can be interpreted as "normal" in a non-food context. And I guess some people have just never learned that it has a more specific meaning when it comes to food.

1

u/Lassie_Maven 18d ago

The amount of times I've ordered ANYTHING with no onions, and still got onions is probably higher than 50%. When I run for office, my biggest policy change will be onions are never standard on any meal. You want them, you have to order them and add them to your food.

-1

u/Rusty_Shacklebird 21d ago

The amount of times ive ordered a plain burger and only got a patty might surprise you. Its only happened once, but it was still weird

1

u/-Trash--panda- 20d ago

Happened once when I was a kid. My dad ordered a cheese burger, only cheese and ketchup and we got a patty smeared in ketchup.